Artist's concept of a Neptune-sized planet orbiting a class-A star (Image courtesy Steven Giacalone, UC Berkeley)

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An article published in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports a study on the exoplanet HD 56414 b, a warm Neptune discovered orbiting an A-type star that has a mass almost twice the Sun’s. A team of researchers used detections conducted by NASA’s TESS space telescope to find a candidate exoplanet that was subsequently verified thanks to follow-up observations conducted with other instruments. This is a rare combination, as these massive stars usually have giant planets like Jupiter or even more massive ones.

Phases of the Great Dimming of Betelgeuse

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An article accepted for publication in “The Astrophysical Journal” reports an analysis of the situation of the star Betelgeuse examining its recovery after what was called the Great Dimming. A team of researchers used a number of instruments including the Hubble Space Telescope and other ground-based and space observatories to reconstruct the history of that event and to examine its consequences. Betelgeuse is returning to what it was a few years ago but not exactly because the colossal coronal mass ejection, confirmed once again by this study, which caused the Great Dimming has also altered stellar cycles that had existed for at least two centuries.

NGC 1427A, one of the dwarf galaxies in the Fornax cluster that appear to be devoid of dark matter halos (Image ESO)

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An article published in the journal “Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society” reports the results of a study of the distribution and morphology of the dwarf galaxies of the Fornax cluster which concludes that they are free of dark matter halos. A team of researchers coordinated by the German University of Bonn and the Scottish University of Saint Andrews examined those dwarf galaxies to see how perturbed they are by gravitational tides generated by nearby galaxies.

Artist's concept of the events that generated the short gamma-ray burst GRB 211106A (Image ALMA (ESO/NAOJ/NRAO), M. Weiss (NRAO/AUI/NSF))

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An article accepted for publication in “The Astrophysical Journal Letters” reports the results of the analysis of the detections of the short gamma-ray burst cataloged as GRB 211106A conducted thanks to the ALMA radio telescope. A team of researchers examined the afterglow generated by the interaction with the surrounding gas of the jets that accompany the gamma-ray burst and move at a speed close to the speed of light. This is the first case in which ALMA has been used to examine such an event and other observations were conducted with the VLA and various space telescopes. The resulting dataset covers the various electromagnetic bands and allowed the researchers to conclude that this gamma-ray burst was generated by the merger of two neutron stars.

The Danuri space probe blasting off atop a Falcon 9 rocket (Image courtesy SpaceX)

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A few hours ago the Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter (KPLO) space probe, which recently received the official name Danuri, blasted off atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral. After just over 40 minutes, it successfully separated from the rocket’s last stage and began the series of maneuvers that will take it into the Moon’s orbit. It’s a long journey planned using what is technically called Ballistic Lunar Transfer (BLT) to optimize efficiency and save the onboard fuel. This means that it will enter the Moon’s orbit only on December 16. If everything works well, Danuri will begin its one-year scientific mission in which its instruments will conduct various surveys.